One of the first significant casualties of the Scherpa Fire, now burning for 48 hours, was a water treatment plant at the top of El Capitan Canyon. The facility, which provided 100 percent of El Capitan State Beach's water, was a "total loss," said State Parks Superintendent Eric Hjelstrom at a Friday morning press conference. "It's a devastating blow." The 140-site campground was evacuated shortly after the Scherpa Fire began Wednesday afternoon and remains closed. Hjelstrom said it was booked with reservations through Labor Day, but with the treatment plant gone, park officials are now reassessing the closure timeline.
No homes have been damaged, but a significant amount of agricultural land has burned, including cattle grazing fields, olive groves, and avocado orchards. Captain Dave Zaniboni with the Santa Barbara County Fire Department said that Thursday night embers on the northeast edge of the Scherpa Fire jumped three-quarters of a mile eastward, starting "basically a whole new fire" that burned Cañada del Corral and El Capitan canyons and "accounting for the extra couple thousand acres" of the fire's current size. Access through the steep, roadless terrain remains a major challenge, said Zaniboni. "Hand crews can drive up Las Flores Canyon, for example, but can they safely hike to the fire? And will they safely be able to get back?"
County Fire Chief Eric Peterson stated the fire essentially doubled in size over the last 24 hours, and that the drought isn't helping things. "It's ominous," he said.